But maybe that’s a false dichotomy: maybe the kinds of global connections created by popular music, by Prince specifically, can also link us to struggles for justice. Popular music provides an index of sound and memory. It is intensely personal, but also widely shared. And maybe this sharing is revolutionary: bread and roses, Prince and The Revolution.

For the love of God, the 5-foot Minnesotan symbol of American depravity has cut to the essence of the problem of sin: It is loneliness. When I sin against U, I am ruptured & alienated from U; from the suppressed, best, true version of myself; from humanity; & from God, the 1 Who always sees me in my potential goodness, no matter how far and how persistently I stray. This is the deepest loneliness. Dealing with guilt and brokenness is at its core about treating our alienation and restoring solidarity, about reviving the truth that we are 1 with our fellow humans and with our best potential.

Solidarity of Nations - Achvat Amim is a 5 month volunteer experience, built and run by activists and educators, in Jerusalem that directly engages with the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the core value of self-determination for all peoples.